New Years Day Start up and Road Run.

Here in Lincolnshire the New Year brought a change in the weather, brilliant sunshine for a change and we hope it stays for some time as we get into 2013.

This morning the first start up was the 1937 Green Pacemaker which has not been started for some time, so was good to give it a good run, yes the oil was thick and it took a bit of cranking, firstly a few coughs and then some sweet exhaust music.

The next was the Ferguson TEE Narrow which was near the door and easy to get out, so a trip round the village was the run for the day and bringing in the New Year in true Massey style.

RE:New Years Day Start up and Road Run.

The best I could do today was start up the stairs to take a couple more toys to the toy room. Only got to the mid 20s (F) today and still have a nice blanket of snow on the ground. I need to go out and make sure my Bargain Joe 44 tractor will start. Since it came from Minnesota it should be use to this cold.

RE:New Years Day Start up and Road Run.

Senior grandson Sam demanded "HIS favourite tractor" be started on New Years day. So we had the MF 165 out. Here it is, but he is at a loss to undestand why there are no reported start ups in N America this Xmas and New Year!

RE:New Years Day Start up and Road Run.

Well... It has never been a tradition around here, but I thought about it this year. Didn't get home from the New Year's Eve party until 4:00 am, so wasn't up early. I looked out across the snow at the barn several times during the afternoon while watching football bowl games.

I'm quite certain the Pacemaker Orchard would have started, as I had it running on a cold day in November without any issue. But, I couldn't have gotten it out for a drive without getting my truck and trailer out, and I hadn't cleared the entire barnlot of the 16" of snow, so that didn't seem reasonable. Then I though I could go out and plug in the coolant heater on the 1150, which is first out the door on the north end of the barn. Thought it might make a good photo in the snow. But, alas, next thing I knew it was 6:00 pm and quite dark.

RE:New Years Day Start up and Road Run.

A friend of mine who isn't a member of MCA is Lyn Jones down in mid Wales. He is a big collector and importer of vintage tractors. Recently he imported a superb green Pacemaker from Quebec province for himself. It was his choice for his New Year's day start up. The start up did have an ulterior motive. He wanted to loosen the rear wheels to take them off for painting the correct colour instead of that infernal yellow which is so reminiscent of another, but inferior, tractor breed!

Well he loosened the big rear wheel nuts and drove it round his yard for an hour but they didn't loosen at all! Not an uncommon phenomenon with these F and H wheels on the taper hubs. He will endeavour to pull them with a puller once he makes one but nevertheless spent ALL of yesterday removing the lugs ready for painting. Not an easy task as I know full well, in fact quite a knuckle bruising occupation.

RE:New Years Day Start up and Road Run.

Lyn's problem of removing the rear wheels has reminded me of a story I remember my dad telling me about one of their 12-20's in the 1940's.
He had purchased a set of new British cast iron wheels with rubber tyres from an advert in the Farmers Weekly magazine to replace a set of almost worn out steel wheels. It was just prior to harvest when they arrived and they fitted the front wheels very quickly, the rears they could not move them and decided to back off the wheel nuts, double nut and lock them together and work the tractor, hoping when the wheels came loose they would not drop off the half shaft.
They thought pulling the binder would quickly loosen the two rear wheels, well 400 acres and over a month later the wheels had not moved at all and their last resort was to make a proper puller with the help of the local blacksmith. I still use it today and find some wheels can be very stuborn, others just pull straight off, depends on how well the last mechanic greased the key and shaft befor he put the wheel on.

So good luck Lyn and let us know when you get them off and painted. I often find some heat from the acetylene torch helps a lot above the key.

A very nice looking Green Pacemaker to add to your collection and congratulations on a New Years crank up.

RE:New Years Day Start up and Road Run.

John,
Did Lyn get wheels off his Pacemaker?
Here is a picture of the puller I use, it is made from two pieces of broken cultivator shank and has worked very well so far,I think the spring steel helps.
I tighten the bolts as much as I can then hit the middle of the steel with a big hammer then tighten the bolts some more, I keep repeating this until the wheel comes loose.

RE:New Years Day Start up and Road Run.

Graham,

Thanks for that. I am not sure how Lyn is getting on but I have alerted him to your note.

As I think I once reproted on here I had a hell of a job getting wheels off my 25. A 60 ton press failed and in the end I had to cut them off and split the hub. Fortunately they were cut down spoke wheels so I didn't need them as I was replacing them with original rubber spokes.

Trust you are keeping warm up there! It has been snowing here in N Wales this last few hours but nothing serious as yet

RE:New Years Day Start up and Road Run.

I made this puller when I was trying to get the wheels off the Cub jr, I was thinking I was never going to get them off. The piece of steel I was using was geting well hammered and I had used plenty of HEAT to, then had the idea of the spring steel,to hard to drill so had to make holes with cutting torch.
When I tried again I found every time I hit it with the hammer the bolt would tighten a little eventualy the wheels came off and I have never used heat since.